Why Did My Progressive Car Insurance Rate Go Up?
Progressive car insurance rates may increase for a number of reasons including a new driving violation and more claims being made in your area.
Written by Abbey Orzech
Reviewed by Kathleen Flear
Your Progressive car insurance rates may increase as a result of a variety of factors, including accidents or traffic violations on your driving record, moving, or claim rates increasing in your area.
Seeing your insurance costs increase without warning and seemingly without reason can be alarming. No one likes surprise rate hikes, but in most cases, your rate increases because of a newly identified insurance risk.
Progressive is one of the most popular car insurance companies around and if you’re one of their customers, it may be helpful to know what could trigger high insurance premiums. So in the spirit of helping you find
car insurance
savings, we’ll cover reasons for rate hikes, ways to keep your prices low, and what factors factor into your Progressive car insurance rates. Let’s dive in.Compare insurance quotes from 50+ carriers with Jerry in under 45 seconds (Title in payload)
4.7/5 rating on the App Store | Trusted by 5+ million customers and 7 million cars4.7/5 app rating | Trusted by 5M+ driversHow to find out why your Progressive car insurance rate went up
You’re sitting at your Saturday morning desk, sorting bills and getting your ducks in a row when you notice your Progressive bill is higher than usual. You haven’t been in an accident in any recent timeframe, you’re still at the same home address, and your vehicle details remain the same—so what happened here?
Your best bet of finding out would be to contact your insurer. Progressive has multiple avenues you can take to reach them:
- Call 24/7 Customer Service at 888-671-4405
- Use their live chat or email features on theProgressive Contact Us page
The service representative you speak with should be able to help you figure out the reason for the higher rates. In the meantime, let’s go over some of the potential reasons they may give.
Reasons Progressive may have increased your car insurance rate
In most cases, you’ll find that your Progressive auto insurance rates have gone up because there has been a newly identified insurance risk associated with your driving record. But what exactly an “insurance risk” means can vary widely—from an at-fault accident to simply moving to a different zip code.
Speeding tickets and other moving traffic violations
When your driving record reflects a moving traffic violation—as opposed to a non-moving violation like a parking ticket—your insurance company takes that information to mean you’re a greater risk on the road. While it may not actually be the case, it looks to your insurer as though you take more chances in your driving.
Exactly how much your insurance rate increases after a moving violation depends on the severity of the incident. A speeding ticket likely won’t do as much damage as a DUI, but you will notice a rate increase. In general, the more major a traffic violation, the higher your rates will go.
Adding vehicles and/or drivers
This one may seem a bit obvious, but having more than one vehicle on your insurance policy can raise your rates, especially if one or more of those vehicles are of high value. More expensive new cars tend to have more expensive repair costs, so insurance companies will adjust rates accordingly.
Your rates may also rise if you add family members onto your policy that are considered higher-risk drivers: teenagers or individuals with poor driving records.
Moving
Believe it or not, your zip code has a lot to do with the insurance prices you’re offered. If a specific area experiences high crime rates and auto thefts, your insurer is going to raise your premium to accommodate for the potential vehicle damage or loss.
Even if crime isn’t factored in, you’ll still be at risk of increasing car insurance costs when you move states since each state has its own requirements for car insurance.
A rise in claims in your area
Similar to moving into a new zip code, living in an area where insurance claims are on the rise will also raise your rates. Cities with a lot of auto insurance claims on record are seen as bigger risks—meaning you’ll be charged a higher rate for protection.
Dropping discounts
Progressive offers a decent amount of discounts toward your insurance premiums, and if you’re seeing your premium increase you may have phased out of your discount eligibility.
For example, someone earning an accident-free or safe driver insurance discount and just filed a claim for an accident will no longer receive the discount.
MORE: How to get car insurance discounts
What factors affect Progressive insurance rates?
You may be wondering what exactly goes into the price consideration when Progressive offers you a rate for your desired car insurance policy. Your age, location, driving record, coverage selection, vehicle details, and more can impact your premiums.
Age
Any young or senior drivers who have ever gotten their own car insurance will surely be aware of this one. Generally, your car insurance rates are the lowest after you pass 25 years old and before you reach 60 years old. This seems to be the window of time insurance companies consider you to be the most experienced and the least likely to take risks on the road.
Additionally, the California DMV has concluded that teen drivers are 2.5 times more likely to get into accidents than the 20- to 24-year-old age group.
MORE: How to add a teen driver to your car insurance
Vehicle type and usage
Your insurance policy may see rate changes based on the type of vehicle you own and how you use it. The details of the specific vehicle will also affect your car insurance quote, so cars with higher market value or cars that are frequently targeted for auto thefts will cost more to insure.
Type of coverage
And of course, how much or how little insurance coverage you add to your policy affects your rates. Going with your state’s minimum required insurance will be the cheapest option, but it often only includes
liability insurance
that does nothing to help with your vehicle repairs or medical bills.So, naturally, your rates will increase as soon as you add
collision coverage
, comprehensive coverage
, or any other additional coverages.How to lower your Progressive car insurance rate
Sometimes there’s nothing we can do about our insurers raising our car insurance premiums...but there may be ways to secure lower rates in the first place! If you’d like to save some money on your Progressive car insurance rates (and let’s be honest, who wouldn’t?), keep these rate-lowering tips in mind:
- Check your discount eligibility: Progressive’s list of insurance discounts is sizeable and covers everything from multi-policy and pay-in-full discounts to good student and homeowner discounts
- Use Progressive Snapshot: This telematics tool tracks your driving habits and gives you a discount on your car insurance rates for safe driving
- Use Progressive’s Name Your Price tool: Car insurance companies can sometimes try to sell you on coverages you don’t need—Progressive allows you to tell them what coverage you need, and they’ll show you coverage options in your budget
- Open a deductible savings bank: Progressive allows you to shave off $50 from your comprehensive or collision deductible for each policy period you go without an accident or traffic violation
"I moved states recently and my old provider didn’t cover me anymore, so I tried usingJerry. They handled everything from fetching the quotes to purchasing the new policy. Now I save $30 a month with Progressive!” —Kay J.
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FAQ
Does Progressive increase rates after 6 months?
Sometimes. Progressive may increase your rates after six months if you’re a new customer and rack up a driving violation or an insurance claim within those first six months of being a policyholder.
